1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition for preventing or treating B-cell lymphoma including IL-21 (Interleukin-21) expressing mesenchymal stem cells, and a treating method using the same.
2. Discussion of Related Art
B cells express antibodies that each specifically response to various antigens, and thus, there are all kinds of B cells. The diversity of the B cells is important for an immune system. For human, each of the B cells can produce many antibody molecules. When a foreign antigen is neutralized, the production of the antibody is almost reduced, substantially. However, in some cases, proliferation of a certain B cells is sustained, and a tumor that is called “B cell lymphoma” may occur due to such a proliferation.
A typical tumor that characterizes the malignant growth of a B lymphocyte is non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). According to American Cancer Society, 65% of the patients diagnosed with the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are classified into an intermediate or high-grade lymphoma. For the patients diagnosed with an intermediate lymphoma, the average survival period after diagnosis is 2 years to 5 years. For the patients diagnosed with a high-grade lymphoma, the average survival period after diagnosis is 6 months to 2 years. As a typical treatment for the B cell lymphoma, there may be autologous or allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, chemotherapy, and a radiation therapy. However, generally, it recurs in the coming months after being treated.
Currently, in connection with the treatment of the B cell lymphoma, the technologies, such as, a protein kinase C inhibitor (Korean Publication No. 2012-0133389), a monoclonal antibody to CD20 (Korean Publication No. 2008-0039844), the combination use of an anti-cytokine antibody and anti-CD20 (Korean Publication No. 2002-0091170), and the like, are developed, but there are no distinct treatment effects that are qualified.
Meanwhile, interleukin-21 (IL-21) amplifies the immune reactions of most lymphocyte subsets, such as, dendritic cells and monocytes, which are mainly produced in an activated CD4+ T lymphocyte and natural killer T cell. Specifically, the IL-21 promotes the proliferation and differentiation of the natural killer cell and CD8+ T lymphocyte. Therefore, there is a connection between the IL-21 and an anti-tumor immune response. However, the systemic administration of a recombinant IL-21 protein, a IL-21 expressing plasmid DNA, or a IL-21 expressing virus, which is known as a treatment using IL-21, has a limited ability for the movement into a tumor lesion, and thus, does not exhibit strong anti-tumor effectiveness.
Therefore, the development of the drugs, which can effectively deliver IL-21 toward a tumor lesion, and thus, can consistently express an anti-tumor effectiveness of IL-21 for a long period of time with high biological safety, is required.